Spending report slams local governments

The Canadian Federation of Independent Businesses’ fourth annual report says that municipal operating spending adjusted for inflation has ballooned to nearly four times the rate of population growth over the past 10 years.Photo by
Stuart Davis

B.C.’s municipal governments are spending more taxpayers dollars at a faster rate than ever before, a new report to be released today claims.

The Canadian Federation of Independent Businesses’ fourth annual report says that municipal operating spending adjusted for inflation has ballooned to nearly four times the rate of population growth over the past 10 years.

Shachi Kurl, CFIB director of provincial affairs for B.C. and Yukon, said Sunday that the report doesn’t take capital spending into consideration — e.g. roads, schools and hospitals — “just your day to day [municipal] credit-card spending.”

Most alarming, said Kurl, is the increased spending over the span of a decade where municipalities have doubled their sales of service income — e.g. parking fees and business licence fees — and more than tripled their income from funding transfers from provincial and federal coffers.

“It seems that the municipal leaders who we have placed in charge of minding the piggy bank are more interested in taking a sledgehammer to it,” she said.

Since 2000, West Vancouver and the District of North Vancouver are among the worst big-city spenders factoring in population growth, according to the report.

In West Van, the population has grown two per cent while the operating spending has grown 42 per cent.

Over the same time, the District of North Vancouver has seen a one-per-cent growth in population, but operational spending has increased 48 per cent.

“These are very concerning numbers and it just goes to show . . . the situation is deteriorating,” Kurl said.

The City of Vancouver falls in the middle of the rankings among B.C.’s largest municipalities, with an 11-per-cent growth and 25-per-cent increase in operationalspending.

Burnaby is in the same ballpark with a 12-per-cent growth in population since 2000 and a 24-per-cent increase in operational spending.

Kurl said Burnaby has been stringent in reviewing its core services and asking themselves, “What does our city absolutely need?” she said.

In 2009, municipal revenue in B.C. totalled $7.2 billion, an increase of $339 million over the year before.

Taxation accounted for 47 per cent of 2009 total municipal revenue, with sales of service at 32 per cent, government transfers at nine per cent, developer contributions eight per cent and other (four per cent) accounted for the rest.

Kurl speculates the marked difference between 2008 and 2009 came from stimulus spending during the economic downturn, pre-Olympic spending and first-year spending from city councils elected in 2008.

This year’s B.C. Municipal Spending Watch report revised its ranking system after city politicians felt it was unfair to focus solely on rates of growth in spending.

Equal weight has now been given to municipality spending rates and the dollar amount every citizen in the community paid for those spending increases over a one-year span.

Penticton, for example, is among the worst-rated spenders compared with population growth, with a five-per-cent growth since 2000 and a 59-per-cent hike in operational spending.

Kurl said Penticton has made a concerted effort to curb its spending since 2009 by implementing a core service review and zero-based budgeting — something Penticton Mayor Dan Ashton echoed on Sunday.

“That core-services review resulted in a consolidation of [city staff]; there was a reduction of 30 per cent of [city] management and six per cent of the union force,” Ashton said.

The CFIB report recommends municipalities support the creation of an Independent Municipal Auditor-General.

Kurl said that with this Saturday’s municipal elections around the corner, the message is less about what candidates are doing and more about what voters are doing.

“This is their money. They should care because it’s their money that’s being drained from their wallets.”

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